Looking at Lincoln

My daughter goes to Abraham Lincoln School here in Monroe and, as expected, learns all she can about the 16th president.   She is enamored by the stories of his childhood, adolescence, and the years leading up to his presidency.   Regaling me with trivia and stories of Lincoln, she has developed a real appreciation of history, much to my excitement.   As a result, I wanted to try and connect her with an experience that she would hopefully remember and appreciate.   She was invited to stand in as a flower girl this weekend for her cousin's wedding (one that she adores, but that may be a post for a later date) in Jefferson City, MO.   While our trip down took us on back roads and more of a direct route, I decided to drive a little bit out of our way on the trip home to bring the history to life.   Coming into Springfield, Illinois, I drove into the Oak Ridge Cemetery where his magnificent tomb is settled.   She was pretty amazed when we saw the outside, but once we walked into the tomb, she was taken aback by how close she felt to him.   I was worried, as a parent, that I would have to remind her to be respectful and keep her voice down, but she immediately realized the gravity of where she was.   Reverently, she made her way around his tomb and spent a few minutes looking at his monument, along with taking a little time to look at the graves of Mary Lincoln and their children.   While the child in the photo is not mine, I thought that she was showing the same type of respect my daughter was.   I'm glad I got to both share this experience with her as well as witnessing her be able to be close to the history that she is learning.

Memorial Day

I have never been in the situation where your whole world comes crashing down when someone you know and love is killed, wounded, or lost in service of my country, and I could never understand what it must be like.   Hollywood tries to give us a sense of the feeling through movies like "The Messenger", "We Were Soldiers", and "Taking Chance", but while you have that sense for a brief moment, these widows, widowers, orphans, and the like don't get to leave those feelings behind at the theater.   This year, I went to the annual Memorial Day service at our city's cemetery to honor those who died, served, or who have yet to come home.   It was a moving experience for me last year when my daughter took part in posting the flags at veterans' graves with her girl scouts, and this year was really no different.   I was by myself, just shooting some pictures and thinking of all those who were there remembering their loved ones.   As I was listening to the speakers reciting the Gettysburg Address, dedications, and reading the roll call of the vets that passed away this year, I saw the family of one soldier, Cpl. Neal, who recently died in Afghanistan in April.   The community came out in force for his homecoming and lined both sides of the road from the Airport to his hometown for miles and miles.   All of a sudden, the service really took on a new meaning as I could see for myself the anguish that lingers after the Last Full Measure of devotion is given.   I thought that this shot of the flag near the veteran's grave meant a lot to me as it symbolized the gratitude I have for all of those in service today, along with those who died.   Thank you.

Dueling Festivals

It's been way too long since I have last posted, but instead of offering excuses and promises to continue, I'll just start this one anew.   Memorial Day has always marked the unofficial start of summer and it is especially true up here in my neck of the woods.   Festivals of all shapes and sizes begin to commemorate all things Wisconsin, namely a German-inspired sausage called the Bratwurst.   Many people come from all over to celebrate the pork link, gobbling up thousands of pounds of the tasty treats.   This year proved no exception as I went to the "World's Largest" sponsored by Johnsonville in Madison and had my share of them.   As I made my way around the festival, I just tried to soak it all in and see it through the lens.   I found out several days ago, that an "alternate" Brat Fest was going on as well in Madison, dubbed "The People's Bratfest" and I wanted to go and see what that one had to offer.   It began last year as a way to ensure that the festival could stay smaller and not be corporate-sponsored, giving the people a voice.   Obviously, with the intense political climate that Wisconsin is experiencing right now, there was no shortage of voices calling for the overthrow of the governorship in office.   However, one thing I did notice that the people at this event were all really happy.   The crowds were elated, music was almost everywhere with a traveling band, musicians on the street and stages, and the bratwurst were really good as well.   I snapped a photo of this man juggling his torches and wanted to capture part of the atmosphere at the same time.   He was funny, energetic, and kept the crowd engaged in his act.   Although it was as politically charged as the rest of the festival, it didn't make the experience uncomfortable at all.   The summer festival season has begun with a vengeance and I anticipate more sunburns, drinks, and fun times with neighbors from next door or across the city.

Sunrise

It was truly an amazing sight to walk out onto the deck this morning in TN and see such a beautiful sunrise with the clouds and colors in full bloom, as it were.   Seeing such beauty was refreshing due to the events that brought us here.   Knowing that, in an instance, the ability to experience a sunrise, or feel the heat of your partner's lips as they kiss you, or hearing the sound of your daughter's laugh, can be wiped away because of random acts of brutal violence and unkindness.   It's tough to not know what can be done for others' sakes and to feel helpless to really help.   It is comforting in a way to know that I have been extremely lucky to have grown up in a family that can bring out the best during the very worst conditions that one can imagine.   Just experiencing first-hand the resolve that my brother has is quite inspiring and indeed helps the process of grieving.   I know that he is hurting inside and out, along with his fiancé and doughtier, but the way he has been able to hold it all together from that point on is truly amazing.   The road ahead is going to be tough, almost too hard at times for them, but from the time I got to spend with him these past two days, I can tell that they will be okay in time.   I can't count how many sunrises, sunsets, ocean waves, or rainbows I have seen over the years, but I can say that this morning's art show is one that I will remember for a very long time.

Milestones

Yesterday, I watched as my odometer rolled over to 100,000 miles and started to think about where my car has traveled in the years of having it.   After first driving it home from Green Bay while living in Appleton, the miles began to add up.   I've taken it over several multi-state moves from WI to TN and then back again.   It's seen essentially the entire interstate system in Wisconsin as I've driven around Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Wausau, Eau Claire, and many more.   I've driven for hours on end on trips to Tennessee by myself, as I attempted to shave off some time by stopping less, driving faster, etc.   It's seen the parking lots of golf courses all over, playing in Memphis, Nashville, Appleton, and points in between.   It's acted like an office of sorts as I made my way around various towns with boxes of paperwork needing signatures of one person or another.   It's been a moving van, an animal transport, and a motel when I needed a quick nap.

I have changed the tires on more than one occasion, gotten countless oil changes, and even had to change the windshield.   The dents and scratches on the doors, hood, roof, trunk, and fenders all have a story to tell about where they happened and who they saw.   While I can't forecast what the years have in store for my Neon, one of the most enduring things about it is that it's mine.   Well, technically it belongs to my wife, but we've been payment-free on it for nearly 2 years.   Now, with 5 miles over 100K, the next chapter begins as we try to coax another hundred thousand miles out of the trusted family car.

Sock it to me

I can almost hear the iconic line from the end of King Kong, "It was beauty that killed the beast", when seeing the Sock Monkey attempt to take over the Eiffel tower.   Or, a drastically scaled down model of the tower that adorns our buffet.   Over Christmas, our daughter got a sock monkey kit and we had finally got the materials to make it a few days ago.   As with most things she gets, our daughter immediately put a stranglehold on it, never to let it go or venture too far from her sight.   She named it "Ted" and has elevated the monkey to a status immediately next to her beloved stuffed Rabbit.   I was wanting to capture this moment in a way that would be both innovative and amusing to me and her.   My first thought was to put him on our scaled down model of a suspension bridge we have, but I couldn't get the pose right.   I then got the tower and his thread smile lit up like the imaginary search lights attempting to lure him off the landmark.   I had a pretty good back light from the outside windows illuminating the ceiling, making the "down below" shot work quite well for me.   He's hugging the top of the tower, not allowing the pesky biplanes to shoot him down like they did with his movie star distant cousin.   While he is just full of string and cotton filling, one could almost sense he has a playful side, being a great partner and security toy for our daughter.

Slip, slidin' away

During the park outing, I grabbed my daughter's beloved rabbit and went to try and see if I could get him to pose for me.   I can almost hear him laughing with me as we went throughout the play area of the park looking for places to take photos while my daughter was off playing on the swings or seesaws.   I tried to get him to swing back and forth from the monkey bars but that was hard since he doesn't have opposable thumbs or a inner sense of balance.   Swinging was kind of difficult also because of the whole thumb issue and the fact that he couldn't grab on to the swing chains for support.   However, I set him down just once and he took advantage of the brief sense of freedom to take a ride down the "crinkly slide", as my daughter calls it.   It's a slide made out of rollers instead of a solid metal chute and allows for adults like myself to have fun on it too.   Turning around, I saw him going down the slide with what I was sure to be a huge smile on his face.   His eyes were just gleaming with the excitement of being able to be a kid (stuffed rabbits are notorious fuddy-duds when they get a little older) and I pointed my camera to him at the right time to catch all of that.   Shortly thereafter, my daughter realized what was going on and ran up to grab him from the fun we were having.   Unbeknownst to her, we'll continue our daily chats about politics, sports, and whatnot while she is learning new things at school.

If I can't see you.....

You can't see me.   Today, with a bit of a mild spell, I took my daughter to the park for some calorie-burning activities.   It was pretty empty, so we had essentially the entire play area for ourselves.   Swinging on the swing set, playing in the sandbox, and perfecting the see-saw's dynamics were on her priority list while I attempted to catch her in an unguarded moment with my camera.   Since she is extremely wary of my motives, it was pretty hard to get her today.    I went in under the pretense of snapping photos of her beloved stuffed rabbit taking a ride on a swing she was pushing and managed to get some fun shots of her.
 

When photos are taken of people with the eyes shut, it aggravates me as a photographer since moments are hard to get more than once.   However, there are few times that when a subject blinks at the right time, all the emotions and feelings come out just with the simple act of smiling or other body language.   This is precisely what happened with this shot of her pushing her animal.   I can almost see both the embarrassment of being caught in a shot along with the sheer delight of having the time of her life with me and her rabbit.  

New Year

I neglected to follow the spirit of my blog for the past few days as I haven't made a new entry since the 27th, due to my inability to access any of my technological instruments since then.   However, it is a new year and it will be a good one for new pictures and getting back on track with the blog.   It's been a strange few days with the weather patterns: wind, rain and drizzle, and lots of fog.   Not just the thin layer of fog seen almost every morning, but the thick, soupy fog that cause all the wrecks heard about on the news most nights.   I went out and shot the Monroe water tower, or at least attempted to, in the thick fog next to the interstate running through town.   As I was driving to the area, the tower was almost missed even though I had been over in that area many, many times.   Almost like a lighthouse appearing on the outcroppings of the ocean, the tower started to come out of the fog and I saw the outline of it.   What made the picture more interesting to me is that the tower is painted white, making the silhouette a cool contrast against the fog.   Only when I got up near it did the entire tower become visible and I wanted to try and get a photo from beneath, hoping the top would be swallowed by the fog.   Nonetheless, I found it a neat shot on a foggy, cool, wintery day starting the new year.